Tuesday, July 31, 2012

i've mentioned before that my niece is pregnant.. you might remember her wedding tea party shower we had last september that post can be seen here... or the a'hoy it's a boy pirate baby shower we had.. that post can be viewed here... or the one the boy's were tricked into attending.. that post here...

this was my niece on saturday... she is very pregnant.. she was ready.. her bags where packed and she was ready to go the hospital.. but baby jax was not having any part of that.. until now.. i am pleased to annouce that Jaxton Dean Renholm was born 7/31/2012 at 11:35 a.m. 7 lbs. 5 oz. and 20 inches long!!! i am so proud of my niece she was a real trooper and she couldn't have done in without her amazing husband, dean.. feelign very blessed and happy today..

remember last month when i did the foodie pen pal for the first time?? that post here.. ohh and i can't wait to make the breakfast that foodie pen pal sent me.. stay tuned for that post!! now on to this months foodie pen pal..let me tell you this woman knows me.. she gets me.. she knows what makes me tick!! she got me chocolate!! and pasta!! and almonds!! and pepper!!.. she didn't even know almonds are my new obsession i keep a bag of them at home and at the office.. pop my hand in and grab a few.. appetite curbed for a few hours... i am so loving almonds!!! i also love pepper.. i even keep a little bag in my purse which has crushed red pepper just in case the restaurant i am at doesn't have it.. i loveeeeee pepper.. he he

check out all the goodies i got in the mail!!! my foodie pen pal's blog is here...

that's chocolate pasta in there folks!!

the almonds were slightly sweet and ohh so good.. they lasted about ohhh 15 minutes before being inhaled!! (thanks to shelby apparently they are her favorite too he he)

chocolate fettucine.. no other words are needed..but of course i need to talk about it.. umm cause it's chocolate!!! i am going to make them with a sweet cream sauce flavored with a hint of orange..

look at all the lovely pepper!! yummy!

ok i made these the other night that recipe will be this week.. i made spicy cajun bbq shrimp and served it over the pasta.. it was devine!!

i loved all my goodies!!! thank you so much!!!

if you want to see what i sent my foodie pen pal you can check out her blog here..

Here’s a detailed explanation of the program:
-On the 5th of the month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you can choose to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.
- Foodie Penpals is open to US, Canadian residents & UK residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa. So, I’m going to keep two separate lists and match US w/ US and Canada w/ Canada! ***If you’re in the UK, please contact Carol Anne from This Is Rock Salt at rocksalt@thisisrocksalt.com to get involved!

If you’re interested in participating for August, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

You must submit your information by August 4th as pairings will be emailed on July 5th!

Thursday, July 26, 2012

so nice i am posting it twice... well not sure it's so nice.. as in so easy and simple i keep making it.. i am rutgetterinner.. these are so easy and simple and good i can quickly make up a batch of them on nights when i am on a time crunch or when i am craving them.. which apparently is a lot.. i thought i would share the recipe again.. while thinking about this post i was reminded of my husbands grandmother.. nonna.. she was a little italian woman who came from sicily when she was young.. when she was about 13 or 14 she went to work for i believe her uncle who was a butcher.. i remember when pete and would go over to her house and pete would ask her about what she was cooking she always referred to the meat as "nice".. i have a "nice" piece of roast.. or a "nice" piece of pork.. etc.. she says it was from her butcher days she learned to appreciate meats.. but i would always giggle because i would think i pity the meat she comes across that she thinks is a jerk or rude.. ha ha she was a feisty little lady.. (her sugo and meatball recipe can be found here...) and posting that recipe has me thinking next time i made these pockets i am going to fill them with her meatballs.. hot diggety damn..

see how the one side puffed up and the other didn't.. omg that makes them so good..

my original post can be found here... and since then i have made them probably a dozen times.. sometimes i am not very creative.. when i find something i like i tend to make it until the family revolts and refuses to eat it again and it then gets lost for many years in the i made it to many times archives.. which if you can believe it happened to steak apparently i made it so often my kids didn't want to eat it for years.. i am a bad momma!! instead of the dinosaur (from the hit show dinosaurs in the early 90's) hitting the dad saying not the momma it should be him hitting me saying bad momma.. well they forgive me each time so that's good.. (please don't tell me you didn't appreciate the comedy genius of the dinosaurs?? i can handle you not knowing about horshak but not about the dinosaurs so we will pretend you loved them as much as did, ok?) *wink* now moving on to the recipe..

panzarotti aka pizza pocket

prep time: 5 minutes

cooking time: 7 minutes

servings: 4 hot pockets

your favorite dough like mine here... or store bought.. this time i used vons store bought wheat dough..

10 ounces thinly sliced pepperoni (this week i used turkey pepperoni)

2 cups shredded mozzarella (i used part skim)

olive oil

preheat your oven to 500 degrees (f) with your pizza stone in the oven.. cut your dough into 4 equal parts.. then roll out each dough on a floured surface... place 2 dough rounds on to a piece of parchment paper .. drizzle a little olive oil and spread around.. then layer some mozzarella and then some pepperoni.. fold in half, making sure to cover your filling.. use a fork to seal/crimp the edges.. brush the tops with olive oil and then pick up parchment and pizza pockets and slide gently onto pizza stone, about 2 minutes into baking pull out parchment paper (it might catch fire if you don't).. continue baking until lightly brown..

see how dark and black my pizza stone is getting?? i love it.. i have 2 of them both pampered chef one rectangle (above) and one round.. i love them both equally.. no favorites here...

about 6-7 minutes total.. then repeat with other 2 rounds... cut in half and eat.. if you don't cut in half while your eating it all the cheese and pepperoni slide to the bottom, it's not a bad thing but might not be what you want.. know what i mean vern??? and you might prefer to serve them with marinara i don't i like them plain..

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

it's another wednesday and another day when i ask you to take my word it.. i think we are at a good stage in our friendship where you can trust me.. right?? *sweet smile* i won't steer you wrong.. well not intentionally.. today is not a recipe.. it's something actually pretty cool! (do people still say cool anymore? or is it rad.. sick.. phat or bad?? ackk never mind let's just stick with cool) i came across both these ideas from pinterest.. there are everywhere so no real link to reference but take my word for it get on pinterest and you will see this idea posted a lot.. unlike some things i have found on pinterest this really works.. can you believe sometimes people post/pin things that are not accurate or a tad misleading?? shocked ?? yeah me too.. ha ha... it's so simple not sure even words are necessary but since i usually can't "shut up," this according to pete, i will tell you what i did..

on sunday i had cut up my celery to take to the lake and i had a celery base left and so i just popped it into water and put it on my windowsill.. now see that growth that's from sunday.. pretty amazing huh?

i got a pot at big lots and this weekend i will plant it and let you know how it goes but according to the other pinners i should get celery..

i used my scallion tops, and had just the bulbs left so i put them in some water and put them on my windowsill as well.. i changed the water everyday for a week (if you don't it gets a funky smell) and within about 5 days i had all this growth.. how "cool" is that..

since this photo i have cut the green parts off and used them several times and they grow back, i have actually replaced the bulb too as it got kinda slimy and weird after a few weeks.. but this weekend like the celery i am going to plant them and see what happens.. i will keep you posted!! ..

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

many many years ago, actually about 26 if were getting specific.. pete and i would go to a mexican restaurant in vegas on special occasions.. it was called garcia's.. and their menu is here.. it was one of our favorites.. well one night we had just been seated when our insurance agent walked by.. she stopped and chatted and told us we had to have the pollo fundido... now pete doesn't care for cream cheese much and i wasn't a chicken eater at the time.. so we both kinda nodded and said sure sure and she said i am telling you order it you won't be disappointed.. she kinda said it mom like.. and well she was our insurance agent and if you can't trust them who can you trust so we both ordered it.. ooooohhhh eemmmmm geeee.. it was good.. we went back every week for a month.. unfortunately we moved across town from that restaurant about 23 years ago and they are actually no longer are in vegas, at least i don't think.. so sadly i haven't had pollo fundido in years 20+ years.. my brother in law used to make something similar but he grilled it and for the life of us non of us can remember what he did or how, we just all remember we loved it.. so fast forward to last week.. i was driving to work and for whatever reason started thinking about this dish.. so much so i even mentioned it on facebook, because i couldn't remember the name of the restaurant or the name of the dish just the ingredients.. well facebookers helped me out and then i couldn't stop thinking about it and how i had to make it..

the original calls for deep frying and since we are trying not to eat much fried food.. (my only exception is bww wings) i decided to bake them.. flauta like.. and let me tell you these are really good.. they will definitely be repeated.. they are so creamy and cheesy.. and the outside crispy.. seriously folks this is a definite contender!! i knew i wanted to make these but hadn't added them to my menu for the week.. but yesterday i decided to make them so i had pete stop at the store and get a rotisserie chicken.. which worked out great.. if you have never utilized your local grocery stores pre-made rotisserie chicken your missing out.. i use them for quick dinners like this.. or sometimes as dinner.. pick up a couple chickens.. make a salad and steam some broccoli.. great dinner.. pete likes to buy them and have them in the fridge to snack on.. they really are good..

pollo fundido flautas

prep time: 10 minutes

cooking time: 25 minutes

servings: 4-5

ingredients:

1 small tub of 1/3 less fat cream cheese, room temp.

2 tblsp. low fat sour cream

2 green onions, diced (green and white part)

handful of cilantro, chopped (about a heaping tblsp.)

1/2 a jalapeno, seeded and diced (you can keep the seeds in if you like more heat)

1/2 tblsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ancho chili powder

1 store bought pre-made rotisserie chicken, i pulled the skin off and removed it from the bones, it's about 2 cups..

pre heat your oven to 350 degrees (f)....now here is what i did.. i put everything in my stand mixer with paddle attachment and let it rip until all combined.. since the chicken was still hot from the store it fell apart easily in the mixer.. if you don't have a mixer or don't want to use it chop or shred your pre cooked chicken and combine everything in a large mixing bowl until well combined.. zap your tortillas for 10 seconds in the microwave to make them easier to work with.. line a baking sheet with foil and spray with a little pam.. take a spoonful of the chicken mixture and put down the middle of the tortilla and roll up with ends open..continue until all 10 are made.. put seem side down on the baking sheet as your making them and then when all done spray with a little pam on top of the flauta..

bake for 15 minutes in your pre heated 350 degree (f) oven.. after 15 minutes remove from oven roll the flautas over to the other side and bake an additional 7-10 minutes, or until they are evenly browned and slightly crispy.. remove from oven..

i removed 3 of the flautas and put them on a oven safe dish.. i spread sour cream on top and then sprinkled with cheddar cheese and put back in the oven for about 3 minutes or until the cheese was melted.. then removed from oven and garnished with pico de gullo.. now be careful the plate is freaking hot and so will the flautas be, pete bit into his and it brought tears to his eyes the creamy filling gets hot so be careful.. and enjoy!!!

Monday, July 23, 2012

i am not sure if i have mentioned before that i love peanut butter.. it's actually an obsession i have had since i was little.. i usually have a spoonful a day in some form.. whether it's on celery or on toast or just right out of the jar.. i have gone to the low fat version but have you looked at the ingredients?? scary.. so the other day i came across this recipe here.. and thought hmm i could make my own.. which is what i did this weekend.. and believe you me i won't be buying peanut butter again.. it was soooooooo easy.. as in turn on your food processor with peanuts in it and viola peanut butter.. and think of the possibilities.. you could make honey roasted peanut butter or almond butter.. oh oh what about cashew butter.. (that was my best horshack impersonation and if you don't know who horshack is can we still be friends? hmm.. probably but you need to bone up on your 70's sitcome tv shows..) i am so fricken excited i found this!! it's so creamy.. so delicate.. so peanuty.. it's amazing.. if you make it i bet you won't buy it again either.. keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for about 2 weeks or in a cool dry place on shelf for about a week.. remember there are no preservatives in it..

you start off with a container of peanuts.. i bought party peanuts at vons they were on sale.. i poured them into my food processor and basically processed on high until creamy and smooth.. takes about 5 minutes.. that's it that's all.. i had the best peanut butter and apricot jam sandwich ever today for lunch!!! (recipe for my jam can be found here)

the peanuts will go through stages ..

crushed into a fine powder..

a paste..

a thicker paste..

a dough ball (mine has a flat top from the bottom of the lid of the food processor)

and then in a second or two the ball breaks down into creamy peanut butter.. i stopped mine here. i tend to like it on the thicker side.. you can continue to run the food processor another 30 seconds or so and get a "runnier" paste..

augh i put it in one jar and there was to much so i grabbed another jar and not enough i didn't want to dirty another jar so it's only a 1/2 full jar of peanut butter.. now the website i refer to above has many suggestions to making different varieties of peanut butter.. check her site out.. i think next time honey roasted peanut butter is on the menu for me.. :)

p.s. i found out several of my casserole type dishes are listed here on this wonderful site All Free Casserole Recipes..specifically 2 of the recipes can be found here and here... :) pretty awesome...

Friday, July 20, 2012

this was such a fun project pete and i did it this weekend .. the weather was to rainy to go the lake.. we popped in a movie or 2 ohh alright we sat in the garage and watched 4 movies.. we made herb spoons and other projects all day.. i would have to say it was a good day!!

when we were in san diego over memorial day we bought about 20 antique silver spoons..

i ordered from harbor freight a couple steel stamping kits.. i ordered a 1/4 " and and an 1/8 "

we pounded the spoons flat with a hammer and we put the spoons on an anvil..

then stamped the word we wanted in.. i then used a black marker colored in the words then wiped them clean..

they came out kinda crooked and i think that's what it gives it it's charm..

pete didn't understand and still doesn't get why the basil one is wrong.. i said you don't read from the bottom up he said i was crazy. ha ha (yes projects that the two of do together get kinda scary ha ha )

i just love how they look in the plant.. ackk looking at this photo my plant needs to be cleaned up .. but this is orange citris mint it's so good!!

Thursday, July 19, 2012

i posted back in february what i believe is the best turkey or any meat for that matter meatloaf recipe.. that post can be found here... and i can still say i think it's the best recipe i have ever made.. and it makes killer meatloaf sandwiches!!! i thought i would repost the recipe..just because it was so nice it deserves to be posted twice..i hope you will make it.. it really is super yummy!!

(tip* I would make double of the glaze.. it's so good on the meatloaf maybe a little extra for the next day left overs or on a sandwich with the meatloaf..)

heat oven to 375 degrees (f) ... process your carrots, celery, onion and garlic in a food processor until a paste.. two twirls around the pan with olive oil add your veggies and a fair amount of salt.. cook them until tender.. about 4 -5 minutes.. add tomato paste.. cook another 2-3 minutes.. add chicken broth.. stir to incorporate.. cook another 3-4 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated.. remove from heat and allow to cool.. in a medium size bowl add your turkey.. panko, salt, pepper, egg, egg white, worcestershire sauce and 1/2 and 1/2 then the cooled veggies.. incorporate it all together without over working it or it will dry out.. once it's all combined.. i took my broiler pan.. laid tinfoil in the bottom for easy clean up and made a loaf out of my meat on the top part.. if you don't have a broiler pan a lined baking sheet will do... (i used the baking sheet last time and lined it with parchment paper) put in the oven on the center rack for 15 minutes.. meanwhile make your glaze.. heat chili sauce, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar until it's glossy.. remove meatloaf from oven after 15 minutes and brush glaze over loaf.. (any left over glaze keep, I spread mine over my cut pieces of meatloaf.. yummmm!!) cook another 45 minutes.. or until the meat gets to internal temperature between 150-155.. (make sure your thermometer is in the fattest part of the loaf and not going all the way through and touching the pan) remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before slicing..

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

i've been wanting to try more ethnic recipes.. and this one caught my eye on pinterest the other day.. i found it here.. and it looked so easy and sounded scrumptious and boy was it.. check out her website it gives step by step instructions.. i changed mine a bit because i used turkey instead of lamb and i didn't "fry" mine i partially cooked them in a pan with a little cooking spray and then finished them off in the oven.. i still can't believe something so simple could taste so good.. they where crispy yet delicate.. the combination of herbs is spot on.. pete came in from outside asking what was the heavenly smell.. they will make your house smell awesome.. if nothing else try them for that reason alone.. *wink*

pre heat your oven to 350 degrees (f).. line a baking sheet with foil.. spray pam on the baking sheet.. combine everything (your meat will be uncooked at this time) except the tortillas.. take a raw tortilla and a heaping spoon of the meat and put on one side of the tortilla fold over and crimp with your fork.. continue until they are all made.. i took a non stick skillet sprayed a little pam and cooked over medium high heat for about 3-4 minutes each side so they would start to crisp up.. i then took the partially cooked pockets and laid them out flat on my baking sheet and sprayed a little pam on the top of each one..

bake for 15 minutes.. flip them over and bake on the other side for 15 more minutes.. they will puff up.. remove from oven allow to cool slightly and then dig in.. pete dipped his in ketchup!!

p.s. exciting news i have 2 featured recipes this week.. one at mrs happy homemaker and the other one is over at bobbi's kozy kitchen.. thank you ladies.. :) check out their sites they have wonderful recipes..

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kaotic kitchen

my little space on the net for recipes and thoughts... i should start off by saying I am not a blogger, this is, shall we say, a journal of sorts for my recipes and random thoughts now and again, to be shared with family and friends. my cooking philosophy is simple, if the recipe has too many ingredients I won't cook it, too many pots and pans required I won't do it, sandwiches DO NOT constitute dinner. I cook simple, quick and easy meals.

about me

I have had a love for cooking since I was young.. well ok at first it wasn't a love it was my "chore." but love came later.. When I turned 16 my Mother started me reading recipes on Sunday and then picking 2 or 3 from her cook books or magazines and then preparing a grocery list from the recipe (which today I am lost if I don't have my detailed list for my trip to the store) from my list I would then clip coupons and I would head off to the grocery store.. As an incintive (I always need incintives and money works wonders *smile*) I was allowed to keep any money I saved from the coupons and she would then pay me per meal I made. I had to cook at leaast 2 a week but if wanted more money I would cook more, the prices ranged from $5.00 for simple meals such as tacos and refried beans (no canned in my house) or $15.00 for something like Chicken Cacciatore (because it takes so much longer but is so much worth it). So when I got married and got a house of my own I was able to conquer the grocery store and cooking delicious meals. um thanks Mom?